Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is planning to sell more than $10 -billion worth of new bonds next week, in part to fund a planned spinoff the company announced last year, according to syndicate sources.

A deal of that size would put the offering in the top 10 largest U.S. investment-grade debt offerings in recent memory, according to data provider Dealogic, whose records go back to 1995. The biggest ever U.S. high-grade issue was a six-part deal from Roche Holding AG (RHHBY, RO.EB, ROG.VX) in February 2009, at $16.5 billion.